OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Seven of the eight teams in the College World Series have hit at least 100 home runs this season. And then there's Kentucky.
Well, the Wildcats showed the long ball can be a big part of their offense, too. Ryan Nicholson hit the tying home run in the ninth inning and Mitchell Daly connected for the game-winner in the bottom of the 10th, giving Kentucky a 5-4 victory over North Carolina State on Saturday in the third straight CWS game to end in walk-off fashion. “Just when you guys thought it couldn't get better,” Wildcats coach Nick Mingione told reporters.
“What a game. What a game. Both teams.
Just two teams duking it out and taking advantage of opportunities. Just so thankful for our players and our fans — in that ninth inning when Ryan hit that home run I could barely hear myself even thinking.” Kentucky (46-14), in its first CWS, set a program record for wins in a season and will play Monday night against the winner of Saturday night’s Florida-Texas A&M matchup.
NC State will play the Florida-Texas A&M loser in an elimination game in the afternoon. “It feels good to be the ground floor of what we’re trying to produce for this program,” Nicholson said. “This game is a really good starting point and a big confidence builder going forward.
We didn’t come here to be happy we’re here. We came here to win games.” The Wolfpack (38-22) went to the bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead in its first game in Omaha since a COVID-19 ou.
